Dieppe Raid

The Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was an ambitious Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe, France that occurred during World War II. The British sought to test the defenses and to provide combat experience for the Canadians, but the raid, unlike Operation Archery eight months earlier, was a catastrophe. The landing craft met withering fire as they approached the beach, and those troops that made it ashore were immediately pinned down. Behind them, the supporting tanks were bogged down, and few men managed to scale the sea wall. Over 3,000 Allied troops were killed or taken prisoner, and the British decided to never attempt a direct assault on a German-occupied port, and the raid convinced the Allies that an invasion of Europe required careful planning.